


The Ghosts That Haunt Us

by ramhearted_atbest



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Battle Above the Godseye, Gen, Helaena Lives, House Targaryen, Pre-A Game of Thrones, Still goes mad tho but lives, Story: The Princess and the Queen, most of the characters above are merely mentioned, sorry i just didn't know what tags to add
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27230398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramhearted_atbest/pseuds/ramhearted_atbest
Summary: "Tyraxes, Shrykos, and Morghul killed scores, there can be little doubt, but Dreamfyre slew more than all three of them combined."Pain and sorrow bore their way to her very soul but Helaena remained alive, with a mother's need for vengeance and a dragon's thirst for blood.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	The Ghosts That Haunt Us

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Just a quick thank you for reading my story. If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to leave them in the comments, they are very much appreciated. 
> 
> Another thing, this story wasn't my idea. It was inspired from a series of asks dwellordream answered on tumblr about how Helaena should have gone rampant with Dreamfyre after Jaehaerys death, and I quite liked the idea even though I'm team black all the way. 
> 
> Anywho, please enjoy and remember kids, feeding your kin to your dragon may bring dire consequences upon you and/or your family ;)

He paced the neglected walkways of Harrenhal alone, the way he’d done for almost a fortnight now. When Daemon had first arrived the cavernous halls seemed to swallow him whole, like a dormant monster waiting for the right moment to strike. Sometimes he took the wrong turn only to find himself in a part of the castle he didn’t even know existed. He could’ve kept walking for days in this place weren’t it for Caraxes always finding him. It was sinister and forsaken, nothing like the Harrenhal of his youth, bustling and full of life and activity in every corner. Now, abandoned and war-torn, he didn’t find as much joy in it as he did back then.

There were the ghosts as well. Oh, the Strong’s loved to deny their existence and name them mere peasant superstitions, but they were there alright. Stalking him. Haunting him. They had no love for him or his family yet they never bothered him, Daemon had his own ghosts to do that. How many men had he killed? How many wished for his downfall? How many had he failed to save? His son followed him around often, the little boy he and Rhaenyra had named after his brother. His stepsons sometimes joined him; Jace, always so clever and patient, and Luke, reserved but bolder than most. They would have cared for his girls well, but now they were dead and buried and Daemon didn’t dwell much on such memories. He always found it best to leave the past to the dead.

He crossed the courtyard to the godswood, leaving Caraxes to his sleep. Like everything else in this hellscape it was absurdly large and overgrown. He unsheathed Dark Sister and slashed at the heart tree. Thick, red sap trickled down from the cut, so dark it resembled blood. He cleaned his blade and sighed, it was his twelfth mark. Twelve days and twelve nights and still his cunt of a nephew hadn’t shown up. How far away was he that it took the mighty Vhagar almost a fortnight to arrive? It’s not like Daemon had kept his presence a secret, he needed Aemond to come after all. For Rhaenyra to succeed he needed to take out the largest threat. Aemond on his own was nothing, little more than an overgrown crybaby, but with Vhagar by his side… one didn’t need a great mind to see the issue with that. Daemon was more than familiar with all Vhagar was capable of, hadn’t they once flown over Essos side by side when Laena had been her rider? Her ghost didn’t haunt him as others did, she was busy haunting Aemond for taking her ride, of that he was sure. His wife had loved to fly more than she had loved life.

Thunder resounded across the Godseye. The birds all around him took to the air in fright. Another man might have mistook it for a storm, but Daemon had been raised with dragons and hence he knew better.

“Finally,” he muttered crossing the godswood. In the courtyard he found Caraxes standing defiant.

“WHERE IS HE?!” A voice roared. “WHERE ARE YOU DAEMON?!” 

“Here I am.” he answered and for a moment he felt like laughing. All this time he’d been expecting his nephew Aemond, but in his place stood his plump niece Helaena atop Dreamfyre.

“Will your brother be joining us soon?”

She threw her head back laughing. “I’m afraid not, nuncle. This is between you and I.”

“Of course.” He smirked. Though his niece looked like she’d been through hell and back, Dreamfyre remained a stranger to battle much like her. But both he and his Blood Wyrm were blooded, veterans of many battles, and though older, Dreamfyre remained significantly smaller than Caraxes.

He made to grab Caraxes saddle but the blue dragon hissed and knocked Daemon to his knees with her tail. Caraxes roared, smoke seething from his jaws.

“Oh no, nuncle,” Helaena said. “You’re staying right here.”

“Should I not meet you on more even grounds, niece?” he asked standing up.

“Like you met my Jaehaerys?” She smiled while saying it, a maddening grin that never reached her eyes. _She is unhinged_ , he realized, _insane._

_A son for a son,_ he’d said back then. Lucerys’ face flashed before him. _“I’m going to be a knight, uncle!”_ He’d died an envoy before Daemon ever got the chance to dub him.

“As an honorable man should meet another.”

“Ah, but you have no honor, nuncle.” Dreamfyre opened her jaws. “And I am no man.”


End file.
